Ecological industrialization and women's entrepreneurship at the heart of the 4th AfricaDays 2021 conference at HEC Paris

AfricaDays @HEC Paris, whose 4th edition will take place on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, aims to raise its students' awareness of the major challenges of the economic and social transformation taking place on the African continent.

AfricaDays@HEC Paris, co-organized by the International Department with the MBA Africa Club and the Africantilles association, is an annual event that brings together the academic and business worlds to discuss current issues related to Africa's development. A meeting not to be missed to think about the future of the continent!

The 2021 edition of AfricaDays, in partnership with SHARE AFRICA, will open with a major conference on campus on May 11, 2021. This will be another opportunity for a high-level exchange with leading figures on the themes of green industry and women's entrepreneurship focused on Africa.

This year, the conference will take place entirely online and will allow all interested parties from all corners of Africa and the world to follow the exchanges.  

Two charismatic guests will discuss the green industry:

• Professor Carlos Lopes, a Bissau-Guinean economist specializing in development issues and since 2018 High Representative of the African Union for the Partnership with Europe, who has just published a topical book: "Africa is the future of the world - Rethinking development," where he calls for a new social contract with the continent and defends more than ever an African industrial revolution.
• Mr. Thione Niang, a Senegalese-born American business leader, farmer and political advisor, will come to discuss the issues of green industrialization of African productive systems. In 2015, he was Ambassador for the US Department of Energy under Barack Obama. In addition, Thione Niang is the author of books on the topic of minority inclusion in energy issues. He advocates for the inclusion of global warming and energy access issues in the economic and social potential of Africa.

This discussion will be followed by a roundtable on women’s entrepreneurship in Africa, the continent with the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs, often due to the conditions in which they must evolve rather than a real vocation.

Well-known guests will share their professional and personal journey, marked by entrepreneurship and success:

• - Rebecca Enonchong, founder and director of AppsTech. She promotes technology in Africa,
• - Laureen Kouassi Olsson, personality of the world of finance and creative industries in Africa,
• - Esther Dassanou, coordinator of the program "Affirmative action in financing for women in Africa",
• - Mbasse Sené, who moved from the world of consulting and investment banking to the world of entrepreneurship with the creation of Fox Groupe,
• - Christian Kamayou, Chief Executive Officer at AKIBA Business Partners and author of the annual list of "100 African start-ups to invest in".

During the debate the speakers will try to shed light on crucial questions for the future of the continent:

- What are the challenges in fostering a women entrepreneurial environment in Africa?

- What are the implications for the local economy? 

Hopefully, they will provide some answers.

To register for this event: click here